Bation op america



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JERSEY, .ASSIGN OR TO WIRE WHEEL CORPO- RPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

HUB-CAP FOR QUICK-DETAGHABLE WHEELS.

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

Application filed December` 24, 1918. Serial No. 268,151.

To all whom z'zf may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. MOLYN EUX, a citizen of the United States, residing in ayonne, county of Hudson, and State of ew crsey, have .invented a new and useful Improvement in Hub-Caps for Quick' Detachable lVhcels, of which the following' is a description.

his invention relates to quick detachable Wheels for automobiles, and similar vehicles, and, particularly, has reference to hub-caI s for such wheels. n

mong the objects of my invention may be noted the following: to provide a hubcap with a locking device, which latter will lbe maintained inl locking condition, by reason of centrifugal force due to the rotation of the cap, even though the lockretaining spring should become broken; to sol construct a hub-cap that there will be no proj ection, or extended portion, beyond the face of the hub of the wheel; to provide a hubcap with a locking-latch, in coperative relation to a wrench-receiving groove, adapted to be rt racted when the wrench is applied, so that the cap can be turned in either' direction without drag of the latch upon the outer shell, and the groove so formed that the wrench will lit snugly; and to provide certain details of construction which are simple, economical, strong and durable, and quite effective for the purposes set forth in the foregoing.

With the above objects in View and others which will be detailed during the course of this description, my invention consists in the parts, features, elements and combinations thereof hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have provided drawings wherein:

Figure l is a central, vertical section of a hub-cap embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section substantially on the line 2--2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a central, vertical section of a hub-cap showing another form of my invention, the sustaining spring for the latch being shown in full; and

Fig. i is a sectional the cap which contains ig. 3. Il

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l detail of the pat of the latch, shown in indicates the hub-cap which is made hollow and provided with an internally screw` threaded attaching rim portion 2, the outer surface of which is beveled inwardly as at 3. The face of the cap is provided with a wrench-receiving groove 4, surrounding a central hub 5 adapted to enter the opening in the wrench. The wrenchreceiving groove 4 .nay have any angular form desired, adapted to enable the wrench to obtain a strong grip upon the cap for applying and removing the same; but, it should be understood that the groove 4 is of dimensions just sufficient to snugly receive the wrench, so as to avoid any lost or loose mo' tin of the latter within the groove in operating upon the cap. An important feature of my invention is that the central hub '5 and the face 6 of the cap are in the same plane, or flush with each other and also flush with the face of the hub proper of the wheel, shown by dotted lines a, Fig. l, when the cap is applied to the latter. Therefore, there are no projections beyond the hub of the wheel for accidental contact with outstanding objects; and this feature of my invention avoids any possibility of the cap being struck and becomingy bent or jammed, so that the wrench cannot be applied, or, if applied, the cap cannot be started or turned for removing the saine. This will be understood to be avery important factor, since it.' is well known that, in structures of this general-type, there are projections beyond the face ofthe hub of the wheel which are liable to be accidentally struck or caused to strike against posts, door framings, etc., as when entering or leaving the garage or running close to any given object.

cording to my invention the whole face of the cap is closed, so that oil cannot reach the surface of the cap, nor be flirted ltherefrom during the turning of the wheel.

The cap, according to my invention, lis automatically locked in position upon the inner shell of the hub when the cap is finally set, and the wrench removed; and when the wrench is applied for removing the cap,the latch is automatically withdrawn from locking position into the cap, thus enabling the operator to readily turn the cap without drag of the latch upon the serrations inthe inner part of the hub with which the latch coperaties.

Furthermore, aci In carrying out my invention, according to one of its forms, see Figs. 1 and 2, I provide a latch or locking device in the form of a ring 7 which surrounds the circular inner projection 8 of the cap, forming the vwalls of the groove 4. Atone point, the latch-ring is provided with an inturned vlateral extension 9 terminating in an outin the same direction as the latch projection 'Thus, the cap cannot run 10 and having its outer side near the top beveled or inclined, as at 14. The lug 13 extends through an aperture in the outer wall of thegroove 4 and presents it-s beveled side 14 toward the face of the cap, so that, as the wrench is forced into the groove 4, the beveled side of the lug 13 gaged thereby and the latch-ring 7 will be shifted to draw the latch projection 10 into the slot 12 of the body of the cap. The latch-ring 7 is normally sustained in an operative position by .a at one end 16 in an aperture of the body of the cap and passing, at its other end, through the portion` 9 of the latch and extending a safe distance beyond said portion to avoid accidental withdrawal, as indicated at 17. The spring 15 is snapped into the body of the cap, and has a normal 4tendency to flex outwardly, thus causing it to snugly hug or engage the inner surface of the body of the cap throughout its length, as clearlyv shown in Fig. 2. Normally, the spring sustains the latch-ring .with the projection 10 extending through the slot 12 of the cap, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and with the lug 13 extending through the aperture in the outer wall of the groove 4. By thus forming the latch, it is rendered very strong, durable and certain in action. Moreover, if the spring should 'break or snap, as is possible from crystallization of, or flaw in, the metal, the latch will maintain its locking position due to centrifugal force tending to drive the same outwardly into engagement with the serrations in the outer shell of the hub. loose during the operation of the car, under any condition. The beveled outer surface 3 of the cap is provided to enable it to wedge irrnly 1n place between the inner and outer shells of the hub.

In Figs. 3 and 4, I have shown another form of my invention wherein all the parts of the cap are the same in Figs. 1 and 2'; and the same type of sustaining spring 15 is employed. The form of the latch, however, Vis changed' and A will Le seen to consist will be enspring 15 anchored with reference to the lug 13. in the form of Figs. 1 and 2. The lug extends through an aperture in the inner wall of groove 4 in the face of the cap. The opposite end of the vlatch 18 is provided with the outwardly ex- .tending catch portion 22 which extends through the slot 23 in the body l of the cap,

and which has one bside beveled, as at 24. In this form of my invention, the catch portion 22 lits snugly in the slot 23, so as to have little or no play therein, excepting radially with 'reference to the axis of the cap or the hub of the wheel. The spring 15 passes through the latch 18 and normally sustains the same with the catch 22 projecting through the aperture 23 in the same manner l as described withreference to Figs. 1 and 2, and the spring 15 is anchored in the same way in the .body portion 1 of the hub. Should the spring break or snap, centrifugal force will operate upon the same manner as described with to the form of Figs. 1 and 2.

From the foregoing, it will be readily seen that I have produced a form and construction of hub-cap which is not liable to be rendered inoperative by accidents or by reference accidental blow imposed upon any portion` of the face of the cap, and that no other part of the cap can be accidentally engaged or struck. Furthermore, inv locking means are certain and positive in action and incapable of becoming oose or inoperative while the machine is running, even though the sustaining spring for the latch should snap. Hence, accidents cannot occur `from this source. It will also be seen that my hubcap is of such form that it may be made ofy a single piece of metal; that is to say, among other ways of producing the same, itmay be die-cast with the closed face and wrenchreceiving groove. This is an important feature of my invention, since an oil-tight, simple, economical, and strong and durable structure is produced thereby; and by casting or otherwise forming the projection 8 and central hub 5, integral with the body of the cap, the entire face of the cap is made strong and capable of resisting strains and blows from any direction which would have a. tendency to jam r fracture the face and hub in such manner as to prevent the use of a Wrench and the properoperation of the locking latch when it is desired to re-.l

described mv invention, desire to secure by Letportion f the latch 18 in wheel, a cap for said hub .having means for detachably` but rigidly securing the same to the inner hub member and rigidly setting the same within the outer hub member, said cap having a wrench-receiving groove in its face, and having the latter and the central nut bounded by said groove, flush with the face of the hub, whereby there are no projections of the cap beyond the face of the hub, the cap is protected, and injury to the cap is prevented.

A cap, for the hubs of quick detachable wheels, comprising a circular, hollow member having a facial groove and circumferential flange, in combination with a locking device for the cap located wit-hin the latter and having` a locking member extending through the flange. and a` cooperating member extending into the groove, and a single means within the cap for both supporting and sustaining the locking device yieldingly in functional position.

3. In combination with the hub of a wirewheel, a cap for said hub located entirely within said hub with its face flush with the latter, a locking device carried by said cap at its face and completely housed by said hub, means for normally holding the locking device in locking position, said means being' such as to enable said locking device to be maintained in locking position during the operation of the wheel by centrifugal force.

4. A cap for wheel-hubs having a locking device therein and extending' transversely thereof near its face, means for normally projecting the lockingl member of the device through the cap in a right-line direction pa -alle] with the face of said cap, means carried by said locking dev'ce and projecting through the face of said cap whereby, when the wrench is applied to the cap, the lockingl member will be retracted Within the cap by a sliding movement in a right-line direction parallel with the face of the ca 5. A cap, for the hubs of quick detachable wheels, having its face formed with an inwardly projecting member and with an outwardly projecting member between which is formed a wrench-receiving groove, in combination with a locking device coperating with said inwardly projecting member and having an operating means cooperating with said outwardly projecting member.

6. A cap, for the hubs of quick detachable wheels, comprising a circular, hollow member having' a facial groove and a circumferential flange, in combination with a locking device for the cap located within the latter and having a loc-king member extending through the flange and an operating member extending into the groove, and a single means for sustaining the locking device in functional position.

T. A cap, for the hubs of quick detachable wheels, comprising a circular, hollow member having a'facial groove and circumferential flange, in combination with a locking device for said cap sustained in functional position in said cap only by a spring, said locking device having a locking member extending through the flange and alroperating member extending into the groove.

8. A cap, for the hubs of quick detachable wheels, comprising a circular, hollow1 member having a facial groove and circumferential flange, in combination with a locking device in said cap having a locking member at an angle thereto/and extending through the flange, and an operating member parallel with the locking member and eX- tending into the groove.

9. In combination with a cap for quick detachable wheels, a locking device having means for cooperating plurality of places in different planes parallel with the face of said cap, means for yieldingly sustaining said locking device within the cap with its locking member in functional position, and engaging means for shifting said locking device in a right-line direction to retract it from functional position.

10. In combination with a cap for quick detachable wheels, a locking device having members projecting through said cap at a plurality of points, means for sustaining said locking device within the ap with said members in functional position, and meanson the cap for confining said locking device to right-line movements.

GEORGE E. MOLYN EU X.

with said cap at a- 

